Through a glass darkly Measuring the social value of universities

“Higher education makes a contribution to our society, our economy, our health and our culture.It is part of our national life. We need to maintain and enhance its excellence and competitiveedge in the face of the challenges currently facing the sector… Only one idea is off the table andthat’s tuition fees. …’’ From introduction to, Building A Smarter Future (web version), ScottishGovernment (2011)2.6 The changes in student funding policy – and the variations in this across the UK – are bringing theissue of university value into sharper focus. Who are the primary beneficiaries from higher education?Does higher education have a wider value to society beyond the private benefits to the individual? Are thebenefits to the individual (who, after all, is also a member of society) purely financial and only related tohigher potential income? How can we measure or assess the wider value of higher education?2.7 In relation to research, there is also now an increased emphasis on demonstrating the impact ofresearch, which is also to be linked to funding. The Research Councils require researchers to map out‘Pathways to Impact’ as a condition of grant and the new Research Excellence Framework, which willform the basis of decisions on future research funding allocations direct to institutions, also includes asignificant element (20% of the overall assessment) related to the ‘impact’ or ‘reach and significance’ ofthe research being assessed. 162.8 Across the UK each funding body also allocates a proportion of funding to support ‘knowledgeexchange activities’, on the basis that these are likely to promote broader university impact; in Englandthe Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) is the primary channel for this, with counterpart fundingstreams in Scotland (Horizon Funding), Wales (the Innovation and Engagement fund) and a NorthernIreland version of HEIF, with broadly similar purposes albeit slightly differing methods of allocationreflecting different regional priorities. All of the Funding Councils have tried to reflect support for wideractivities beyond those considered immediately ‘economically relevant’ (with both the SFC and HEFCEcommissioning studies seeking to elicit ways of demonstrating wider public benefit). 172.9 However the discussion in recent years about higher education’s contribution to society has beenmost often characterised in terms of the economic benefits generated by higher education – and there isa growing body of research into different aspects of the economic role of universities. This has included,for example, the impact of university expenditure generating jobs and output across the economy;universities’ role as major export earners; the role of universities in contributing to regional innovationand competitiveness and the impact of graduates on productivity. 18 The idea that universities have animportant role to play in the economy is now broadly accepted; however at the current time of economicconstraint, when hard decisions are being made about the allocation of public resources, there is anincreasing urgency to find ways to more fully consider universities’ broader contribution to society andthe extent to which universities may be delivering wider value beyond the directly financial.3. Issues of value: definitions and meaning3.1 There are many different concepts of value and these can have very different meanings to differentpeople. In this section we examine some of the areas where discussion of social and economic ‘value’ canbecome difficult and fraught due to conceptual and definitional challenges.3.2 It is worth mentioning just a few of the many expressions of ‘value’ with which the path is regularlystrewn. These include:Educational value; Cultural value; Intrinsic Value; Option Value; Heritage Value; Economic value;Public Value; Social Value; Financial Value; Blended Value; Instrumental Value (and so on and soforth.)3.3 Among the many questions encountered include discussion of whether ‘value’ can be assessedobjectively at all - is it inherently subjective? Can something have an ‘intrinsic value’ that is beyondquantification (an issue that has been hotly debated in the cultural sector)? How far is the social ‘value’ ofan object or a service connected to the ‘values’ of the society in which it is located?6